This writer is ready to go on a wild ride with the documentaries slated for the Summer Series on HBO! Are you? There are a total of ten (10) films on a diverse set of topics that will air every Monday from 06.10 through 08.12 this summer. We are going everywhere from Hollywood’s past to its present and from Iowa to Russia. Plus, there are hot topics like crime, environmental concerns and even sex as well. If that hasn’t piqued your interest then, think, I might be able to get you pumped up with the little video HBO has made about the slate. Watch this.   Below is a brief...

A lot of times, I don’t watch documentaries like this because I know I am going to see some kind of nasty abuse footage. I know I’m going to be disturbed and angry. HBO’s documentary, An Apology to Elephants, made me disturbed and angry, but not because of the abuse footage. It’s because I didn’t get enough information in general.  The documentary spends quite a bit of time vilifying the use of elephants for entertainment purposes, especially in circuses. Elephant advocates tell us what circuses say, but we never get any statements from the entertainers. We...

WITNESS,  a searing and groundbreaking 4-part HBO Documentary Films® series, offers “an immersive experience” (The Denver Post) into present-day conflict zones in Mexico, Libya, South Sudan and Brazil, as shown through the lens of three war photographers. Carrying viewers to the heart of the human drama in war-torn areas, the film explores what compels our current generation of photojournalists to get closer to battle when everyone else seeks cover. The series is Executive produced by Michael Mann and acclaimed commercial and documentary director David Frankham. In some areas...

Well, they must because they are continuing with their The Weight of the Nation Initiative.  In May 2012 HBO was a key component in a multi-media outreach program to address the obesity issue in America. HBOWatch covered the story about the project and the specific documentaries HBO made. Now that you have refreshed your memory by checking out those links here is a quick look at what is happening this year.   On 05.07 HBO, all across its channels, will air two new documentaries under the collective banner of THE WEIGHT OF THE NATION FOR KIDS. They will be joined by a repeat broadcast...

Overview: An HBO press release sets up this documentary this way - Osama bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi who had taken up the cause of the Muslim jihad and helped establish the secret terror network al-Qaeda, was one of America’s greatest threats. From the early 1990s he was the obsession of a small group of CIA analysts and operatives who were determined to stop him before he launched a strike on U.S. soil. MANHUNT features testimony and recollections – many shared for the first time – from the CIA officers who labored to destroy bin Laden’s terrorist organization and eventually kill the...

Overview: Elephants, both the Asiatic and the African for centuries, have been adored, have inspired great works of art, and even have been revered as gods, yet they have also been treated with cruelty. AN APOLOGY TO ELEPHANTS explores the abuse of these ancient and intelligent animals and shows how some people are reversing the trend. It describes the often-brutal treatment elephants undergo when they are trained to perform, the psychological trauma they suffer and the physical damage done by inadequate living conditions in some zoos and circuses. In addition to this footage of elephants in...

Overview: Technically the full title of this documentary is WHICH WAY IS THE FRONT LINE FROM HERE? THE LIFE AND TIME OF TIM HETHERINGTON. It is a portrait of the acclaimed war photographer and filmmaker who lost his life out on the job on 04.20.2011. He chronicled the human condition concentrated down to its rawest and purest form when his fellow beings faced conflict and war. His work spanned a number of films and photo essays. His most noted work was the Academy Award nominated Restrepo in the Best Documentary category. That nominee was co-directed by Sebastian Junger, who is also the...

Overview: 50 CHILDREN: THE RESCUE MISSION OF MR. AND MRS. KRAUS tells the dramatic, previously untold story of Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus, a Jewish couple from Philadelphia who followed their conscience, traveling to Nazi-controlled Vienna in spring 1939 to save a group of children. Amidst the impending horrors of the Holocaust, they put themselves in harm’s way to bring what would become the single largest-known group of children allowed into the U.S. during that time. What got this story to be told by filmmaker Steven Pressman was his relationship with the Kraus’s granddaughter Liz...

Overview: This documentary traces the former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey’s transformational journey from politics to pulpit as seen through the lens of acclaimed filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi. This chronicles his path from resigning from office and declaring himself as a Gay American on live TV, to divorce, and to a second change. Expectations: I expect a simple recount of history here told in an emotive manner through the lens of one of HBO’s favorite documentarians. Though I don’t remember this news from 2004 I am sure it was a shock to the Garden State when their governor exposed...

Overview: As the economy slowly recovers from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, an increasing number of families are caught in a daily struggle to meet basic needs. At the same time, the social safety net intended to help those in crisis has been weakened by budget cuts, creating a perfect storm of greater need and fewer resources for the vulnerable. Viewed through the stories of eight families, AMERICAN WINTER reveals the devastating fallout of the mortgage meltdown, unemployment, the health care crisis and a shrinking social safety net. Included in the film are...